The Authoritative Source for Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball

Results tagged ‘ Cedar Rapids Raiders ’

On June 17, 1959, Danny McDevitt (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1956) pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Braves at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. McDevitt struck out two while allowing two hits and three walks in the game.

Danny McDevitt posted a 21-27 record with a 4.40 ERA during his six year MLB career playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Athletics. McDevitt will always be remembered for his performance on the mound during that last home game in Brooklyn at Ebbets Field, where he struck out nine Pirates and allowed just five hits in a complete-game, 2-0, Dodgers victory on Sept. 24, 1957.
Danny McDevitt played for the 1956 Cedar Rapids Raiders squad that finished 44-76 under manager George Scherger. McDevitt went 5-8 with a 3.52 ERA in 120 innings of work.

On June 10, 1959, Rocky Colavito (Cedar Rapids Indians – 1952) had a historic day at the plate. Colavito went 4-4 with four HR, six RBI, scored five runs and walked in the Cleveland Indians 11-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium. He walked in the 1st, hit a two run shot in the 3rd inning off Jerry Walker, hit a solo home run off Arnie Portocarrero in the 5th and a two run shot in the 6th inning before finishing with a solo shot off Ernie Johnson in the 9th. Colavito is one of only six players in MLB history to homer in four consecutive at bats in one game and is one of only 15 players to hit four home runs in a game. Pat Seerey (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1942) is also among the 15 players to accomplish the feat.

Colavito hit .266 in his 14 year career playing for the Indians, Tigers, Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers and Yankees. Hitting all but three of his 374 career home runs in the AL, he ranked behind only Jimmie Foxx (524) and Harmon Killebrew (then at 397) among the league’s right-handed hitters when he retired. Colavito finished his career with 1159 RBI.

Rocky Colavito was part of the 1952 Cedar Rapids Indians team that finished in 8th with a record of 53-71 under manager Jimmy Bloodworth. Colavito hit .170 with 8 HR in 94 at bats for the Cedar Rapids Indians.

On June 9, 1946, Hank Edwards (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1941) went 4-5 at the plate with a double, a triple, a RBI and scored two runs in the Cleveland Indians 7-4 loss to the New York Yankees.

Hank Edwards hit .280 with 51 HR and 276 RBI during his 11 year MLB career playing for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns. Edwards led the American League with 16 triples in 1946 while posting a .301 batting average (8th place in the A.L.) and knocking 10 HR for the Cleveland Indians.

Hank Edwards was part of the 1941 Cedar Rapids Raiders team that finished 72-49 under manager Ollie Marquardt. The ’41 Raiders defeated Springfield in the opening round of the playoffs and then topped Decater in a five game series for the Three-I League Championship. Edwards hit .364 with 23 HR, 31 doubles and 10 triples in 121 games for the Raiders.

On June 3, 1959, John Roseboro (Cedar Rapids Raiders 1955) went 2-4 at the plate with a pair of HR to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. Roseboro gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the top of the second. He then broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run shot in the top of the 6th.

John Roseboro won two gold gloves and was selected to the National League all-star squad four times during his 14 year MLB career playing for the Dodgers, Twins and Senators. Roseboro hit .249 with 104 HR and 548 RBI.

John Roseboro hit .235 with 5 HR in 55 games for the 1955 Cedar Rapids Raiders. The team finished with a record of 49-77 under manager Ray Perry.

On May 31, 1943, Chuck Workman (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1940) went 3-5 at the plate with a homerun, two RBI and scored three runs in the Boston Braves 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field.

Chuck Workman hit .242 with 50 HR and 250 RBI during his six seasons in Major League baseball playing for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chuck Workman hit .320 with 29 HR for the 1940 Cedar Rapids Raiders. The Raiders finished with a record of 74-51 under manager Ollie Marquardt. The 1940 squad took the Three-I League Championship defeating Springfield (3-0) in the opening round of the playoffs and then taking down Decatur (3-1) in the championship series.

On May 29, 1947, Red Embree (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1940) led the Cleveland Indians to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium with a complete game pitching performance. Embree struck out four while allowing one run, two walks and four hits.

Red Embree posted a 31-48 record with a 3.72 ERA during his 8 year MLB career pitching for the Cleveland Indians, the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Browns.

Red Embree was 8-3 with a 4.67 ERA during his 16 games with the 1940 Cedar Rapids Raiders. The Raiders finished with a record of 74-51 under manager Ollie Marquardt. The 1940 squad took the Three-I League Championship defeating Springfield (3-0) in the opening round of the playoffs and then taking down Decatur (3-1) in the championship series.

On May 23, 1947, Allie Reynolds (Cedar Rapids Raiders – 1941) pitched a complete game shutout with a two-hitter leading the New York Yankees to a 9-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. Reynolds struck out four while walking four in the game.

Allie Reynolds finished his 13 year career playing for the Indians and the Yankees with a 182-107 mark and tallied 49 saves and posting a 3.30 ERA.

Reynolds was part of the 1940 and 1941 Cedar Rapids Raiders teams. The 1940 Raiders squad finished 74-51. Cedar Rapids defeated Springfield (3-0) in the opening round and the topped Decatur (3-1) to win the Three-I League championship. Allie Reynolds posted a 12-7 record and a 3.59 ERA in 1940.

The 1941 Raiders finished 72-49 under manager Ollie Marquardt. Cedar Rapids defeated Springfield (3-1) in the opening round of the playoffs and then topped Decater (3-2) in a five game series for the Three-I League Championship. Allie Reynolds went 10-10 with a 4.63 ERA in 1941.

On April 27, 1940, Lou Boudreau (1938 – Cedar Rapids Raiders) hit a pair of home runs and went 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored in the Indians 4-2 win over the Tigers.

Lou Boudreau hit .295 with 68 HR and 796 RBI in his 15 year career with the Indians and the Red Sox. Boudreau was an eight-time All Star Game selection, starting three times. He won the 1944 AL batting title (.327), and led the league in doubles in 1941, 1944, and 1947. He led AL shortstops in fielding eight times. Boudreau still holds the record for hitting the most consecutive doubles in a game (four), set on July 14, 1946.

In 1948, he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award and managed the Cleveland Indians to the World Series title. Boudreau was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970.

Lou Boudreau was part of the 1938 Cedar Rapids Raiders team that finished 56-63 under manager Cap Crossley. Boudreau hit .290 with three HR that year for the CR club in 60 games.

William James Fanning (Class of 2009) was born in
Chicago and raised in a small community in northwestern Iowa.He attended Buena Vista College and received
a Masters Degree at the University of Illinois in Physical Education before
beginning his professional baseball career.He was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1950 as a catcher. He played for the Cedar Rapids Raiders in 1952. He hit 16
homeruns, drove in 81 runs in 121 games, and had a .272 batting average. The first general manager of the Montreal Expos of the National League (appointed in August 1968), he
served the Expos in a number of capacities for almost 25 years, and as their
field manager in1981 he guided Montreal into the
playoffs for the only time in the team’s 36-year history.

He spent parts of four
seasons (1954-57) with the Chicago Cubs. He then became a manager in the minor leagues, eventually
joining the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves organization, where in the
middle of the 1960s he was promoted to the positions of Director of Minor
League Operations and assistant general manager.

After leaving the
Braves, he briefly served as the first director of the Major League Scouting
Bureau in 1968, but when his old Milwaukee boss, John McHale,
became the first president of the expansion Expos, Fanning accompanied him to
Canada as the Expos’ general manager. Fanning and McHale built the Expos from
scratch. In those days, prior to the era of free agency,
newly-formed clubs could only rely on expansion and amateur drafts and trades
to build their talent base.

He served in a number
of front office posts with Montreal, including Director of Scouting, when,
during the 1981 stretch run; he was called back into uniform. With 27 games
left in the season, Dick Williams was sacked and Fanning was named his surprise
replacement.

Allie Reynolds was a member of the 1940 and 1941 Three – I League Championship Cedar Rapids Raiders teams. Reynolds posted a 12-7 mark with a 3.59 ERA for the 1940 Raiders squad. The Raiders finished 74-51 under manager Ollie Marquardt. The Raiders defeated Springfield in three straight games in the opening round of the playoffs. They then topped Decatur (3-1) in four games to win the 1st of three straight Three-I League Championships.

Reynolds returned to Cedar Rapids in 1941 and posted a 10-10 record with a 4.63 ERA. The 1941 squad
finished 72-49 under manager Ollie Marquardt. The Raiders defeated
Springfield in the opening round of the playoffs and then topped Decatur
in a five game series for the Three-I League Championship.

Allie Reynolds struck out 10 in a complete game shutout in Game 4 of the 1952 World Series

In 1943, during the war, he became a regular. He was 11-12 in 1943, and 11-8 in 1944 – leading the league in strikeouts in 1943. In 1945 he had a breakthrough year, winning 18 games. He was named to the All-Star team for the first time. In 1946 he had an off season, and after the season was traded to the Yankees for Joe Gordon.

At the age of 30, he started a string of 8 seasons with the
Yankees, and during each season he won substantially more games than he
lost. In addition, his ERA was better than the league average each year.
He appeared in 6 World Series with the Yankees, and the Yankees won all
of them. Reynolds had a record of 7-2 in the Series with a 2.79 ERA
over 77 innings of Series play. He also hit .308 in 26 at-bats in the
Series.

He was frequently recognized at post-season award time. In the 1951 AL, he was 3rd in the MVP voting (his teammate Yogi Berra was the winner); the next year was 2nd in the voting – splitting some votes with teammate Mickey Mantle, who was 3rd that year. Reynolds led the league in both ERA and strikeouts in 1952.

After having one of his better statistical years in 1954 at age 37, he retired – finishing with a record of 182-107, a .630 winning percentage, and a 3.30 ERA.

Some argue that Reynolds is one of the better pitchers not in the Hall of Fame. The most similar players who are in the Hall, based on the Hall of Fame similarity scores method, are Lefty Gomez and Bob Lemon. A later-era player who seems quite similar and not yet in the Hall is Ron Guidry.

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